Briefing us on another’s behalf.

At the outset, tell us who may instruct us, who approves a proposal and the spending that goes with it, and who should be kept informed. We act on instructions from those people and no one else, and any material change is confirmed with the person who approves it.

If the principal would rather not be named in correspondence, we use the reference or initials you give us. The principal’s name then appears only where a supplier must have it: on a hotel registration, or an airline booking.

You need not send everything at once. A short note with the essentials lets us start, and we ask for the rest as the proposal takes shape. What helps most is this.

The purpose

What the journey is for, and what would make it a success in the principal’s eyes.

The party

Who is travelling, with the ages of any children, and the staff who travel with them — a nanny, an assistant, security advisers — with the rooms and movements each will need.

Dates and flexibility

Fixed dates or a window, and which parts of the plan can move.

Standing preferences

Rooms, floors and beds; food and drink; cars; the hours kept; anything that has not suited the principal before. Tell us once, and it is applied to every arrangement afterwards, with your agreement.

A budget, if you wish

A range for the whole arrangement helps us propose sensibly. It is optional, and it is never passed to suppliers.

Settlement

Who will settle the account, and the details that should appear on it.

1. I

   To begin

   A name, a way of reaching you, and the brief. Nothing more.

2. II

   To propose

   Dates, the party, and the preferences that shape the choice of places and rooms.

3. III

   To book

   Passport details and dates of birth where a booking or an entry requirement calls for them, sent by whichever method you prefer, and kept no longer than the privacy policy allows.

4. IV

   Before departure

   Final flight details and any late changes to the party.

The proposal

Every component with its supplier, and the alternatives where a choice matters.

Confirmations

Each arrangement confirmed in writing as it is secured, with the supplier’s own confirmation where there is one.

The itinerary

One document, kept current, with a copy for each traveller showing the parts that concern them.

During the journey

A short message at the moments you ask for, such as a safe arrival or a departure, and at once if anything changes.

Afterwards

A closing note of what was arranged and anything that changed along the way, once the account is settled.

Information about the principal and the household is shared with suppliers only as far as each arrangement requires, and is used for no purpose other than the journey. How personal information is held, who can see it and how long it is kept are set out on the page on discretion.